as in spoiling
to treat with great or excessive care
refused to mollycoddle her malingering son and sent him off to school
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mollycoddling
Verb
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But Ryan put the game away with a 7-0 spurt, spoiling Glenn's first trip to the state finals.—
Rick Cantu,
Austin American Statesman,
7 Mar. 2026 -
South Florida’s bar scene is constantly spoiling us.—
Phillip Valys,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The elder Junod gave off mixed messages, abusing his long-suffering wife while indulging his gifted son.—
Hamilton Cain,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
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There’s a conversation for Nebraska worth indulging this spring.—
Mitch Sherman,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Denver was nursing a 93-86 lead into the fourth when Doncic banked a circus 3-pointer while falling into the stands.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
6 Mar. 2026
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Holmgren tied a career high with six 3-pointers and Lu Dort added 16 points for the Thunder, who recovered after the Knicks took the lead with a 40-point third quarter, going back ahead early in the fourth and nursing a small advantage the rest of the way.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Leisure bred laziness; coddling meant spoiling.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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True American industrial strength rests on productivity, innovation, competition, and access to global supply chains, not on coddling producers behind walls of higher prices.—
Veronique De Rugy,
Oc Register,
25 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Conceivably one or two of them should have already been at Citi Field, but until finally summoning McLean to pitch Saturday, Stearns has been babying them in the minors.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
16 Aug. 2025
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However, some have criticized employer techniques for tracking in-office attendance as babying employees and demonstrating an unwarranted lack of trust.—
Scharon Harding,
ArsTechnica,
8 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Mollycoddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mollycoddling. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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